


Wrong Number, Right Person

by SheWroteTheWorld



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mental Health Issues, Panic Attacks, Sort Of, Wrong number, kind of? IDK
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:15:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29404659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheWroteTheWorld/pseuds/SheWroteTheWorld
Summary: Slowly, he pulled his phone up to his ear waiting to see if it was some kind of scam caller though Akaashi was surprised when he heard something completely unexpected come from the speaker of his phone.“Hey bro, I know you’re awake. Its just been one of those days and I could really use the distraction for a while. Do you think you could just, I don’t know, talk about that new boyfriend that you keep going on about?"The voice was deep and rumbling, completely unfamiliar to Akaashi, though the most concerning was how hoarse the voice sounded, clearly as though they were trying not to cry on the spot.He took a second to gather his thoughts before speaking. His voice clear and precise as he spoke to the stranger on the other side of the phone.“I’m sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong number, sir.”Another moment passed before Akaashi spoke again, surprising both men with his words."Though I suppose I wouldn't mind staying on call for a while, if you'd like."
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33





	1. Late Night Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> was going to do this for valentines tomorrow and then promptly realised that white day exists so the dates dont match but oh well  
> also just an fyi  
> and this is the product of a late night and a sad moment while completely procrastinating my interview prep as well as the piles of work i need to catch up on soooo  
> yea here you are hope you enjoy

**March 13th 5:23pm**

It had been one of those days.

One of Bokuto’s terrible, average, mind numbing, boring days that somehow left his stomach in knots with his body hollow, it gave him a bitter taste in his mouth that left a lingering feeling of uneasiness no matter what he did.

For hours on end, he felt this way, nothing improved the feeling for more than a couple of seconds. Bokuto knew that this was just the beginning, after all, yesterday he had been his loud, joyful, confident self. All he could do was let himself go when dragged and hope the emptiness didn’t last longer than a couple of hours, let alone a couple of days as it was usually known to do.

In the back of his mind, a voice popped up and reminded him that it would always end like this, that happiness would always feel fleeting and that laughter or smiles would never last in his world. Bokuto was pulled into the reality he fought desperately against in his mind. The thought that he’d always be brought back to this level of numbness and pain that he hated so much.

_‘It’ll always come back to this’_

_‘You deserve to feel empty’_

_‘No one actually cares that you feel bad, you know that, don’t you?’_

_‘How dare you feel like this, nothing bad actually happened to you’_

_‘You’re overreacting, you are just being sensitive’_

He felt as though the ground could open up and swallow him whole right then and there and he wouldn’t bat an eyelash, wouldn’t even try to get away, to scramble to safety. Bokuto just couldn’t bring himself to care. After all, school had been so exhausting despite his lack of effort and attention. He couldn’t even remember what lectures he’d had today, his body just dragged his unwilling mind along, caught up on muscle memory and instinct to guide him through the day. The near constant haze of dissociation had kept him from hearing the muffled words of the professors and even is his daze, Bokuto knew he hadn’t written any notes either, the vague thought of which made his eyes begin to sting. A constant weight he felt accumulating in his stomach shifted and he felt as though he’d slip through the floor, growing and dragging him further down, his limbs almost numb and far too heavy to move.

It was always days like this that brought back the feeling of heavy metal settling in his body, he felt like a weight had sunk its way into his stomach and was intent on dragging him deeper into the ground, limiting his movement and making his limbs feel like stone, as though he were paralysed in the middle of ocean, pulled deeper into the depth of the sea bed unable to draw a deep clean breath of air.

The more he tried the more helpless he felt, his limbs growing heavier and his body sinking further into the ground. Each time he tried to take in a breath he was left with a stiff jaw that refuses to get the air past his throat. The struggle to get a full breath of air into his lungs was difficult, all he wanted was to lighten the feeling of metal in his bloodstream, weighing every part of him down and spreading with each beat of his heart. As if the iron in his blood was literal, a series of molten metal clumps, insistent on turning him into a living statue.

Surprisingly, despite the remaining dissociative fog clouding his thoughts, Bokuto was aware of his surrounding in the cramped train car. Afterall it was rush hour, businessmen and university students heading back home all at the same time, everyone too tired to pay attention to anyone else, to pay attention to Bokutos near panic at the possibility that he would turn to stone right then in that very moment.

_‘At least they won’t stare and whisper. They would probably laugh if they knew.'_

His eyes darting back and forth between the others in his train car, he tried once again to take a full deep breath.

He failed.

Though he was closer than he had been before and that alone allowed him the moment he needed to prepare himself as he felt the train lurch to an abrupt stop. The doors opened and people began filing out, on their way home after a long day of hard work. The weights deep in his chest dissipated only slightly as he prepared to drag himself out of the train. Thankfully, the combined feeling of exhaustion, a desire for his bed and the temporary reprieve from the heavy weights was enough to get Bokuto pulling himself out of the train car and onto the platform. A soft cool breeze hit the side of his face as he stepped out and snapped his body back to reality, dragging in a single shaking breath that finally made its way through to his lungs. Even though the fresh air was calming and grounding, it wasn’t magic and it didn’t bring Bokuto back to his regular sense of normality. Of pure joy and happiness, smiling as he walked through the streets, excited for what would come next. Instead, he just continued his way through the familiar streets as he had all day so far, feet dragging across the pavement as the weights continued to settle in the empty pit of his stomach.

Overall, the journey back home was mostly a blur to Bokuto as he unlocked the front door to his flat before the knowledge of having arrived at his building let alone his street had settled in his mind. Though he couldn’t exactly be surprised, all day he had found himself at his destinations without much knowledge of how or when he had gotten there.  
Entering the familiar warmth of his own space brought some comfort to Bokuto, a welcome relief that he was finished for the day and no one would be expecting anything from him until tomorrow. A new wave of exhaustion fell over him as he trudged through the space and flung himself in the general area of his bed, barely opening his eyes to check as he moved. Landing face first over the sheets and clothes that were littered across it, his cheek pressed firmly into the centre of the bed while his long legs hung, spilling over the edges. With little thought to anything other than his deep rooted exhaustion and desire to sleep for a week, his mind was pulled deeper into sleep.

**\-------------------------**

**March 13th 9:52pm**

Akaashi let out a quiet sigh as he sat up in his bed, accepting the fact that he wouldn’t be able to get to sleep anytime soon. His mind was too busy, too active, to let him rest.  
It was a Tuesday and Akaashi knew he should be asleep already, with upcoming exams and early morning lectures, he needed his rest. Yet, here he was. Restless. Unable to get even a second of sleep, his mind was stuck on the sore subject that the silence encompassing his room seemed to emphasise.

Akaashi usually didn’t mind the quiet, in fact he generally preferred it. He had always been an independent person, for as long as he could remember Akaashi basically raised himself. It wasn’t that his parents were bad or cruel, in fact it was the opposite, they were loving and they cared for him. They were just always so busy, with his parents both being top of their field, his mum a surgeon and his dad a lawyer, neither ever had enough time for him growing up. He frequently came home to an empty house, sometimes for days on end, both of them being in conferences or work trips across Japan. Akaashi was fine with that, he really was. It was lonely at times, having to teach himself how to ride a bike, how to do the laundry or how to work the oven, but he was ok. The experience only taught him how to be strong and confident in his own skills, it taught him that he didn’t need to depend on anyone and that he was fully capable by himself.

Akaashi always thought that was a good thing, to know that he would never depend on someone else, just for them to leave him when they got bored anyway.

They’d always get bored, anyway.

He’d never had many serious relationships, after all Akaashi was happy in the silence, he liked the predictable calm that would settle when he was alone. Though sometimes he missed the warmth that came with the companionship, a warmth that he craved. Since his flat could get so cold at night when there was no one else there next to him, the idea was at the forefront of his mind.

Shaking his head to get the thoughts out, Akaashi knew it was stupid to think of things that were impossible to get, it was his fault he was alone at that moment anyway. Akaashi knew he was difficult to handle, picky and near to impossible to please.

All of his exes had even told him so, never holding back the harsh words when they all inevitably left him out of frustration.

_‘It’s obvious you don’t even want me here.’_

_‘Why did you even say yes when I asked you out’_

_‘Of course I’m leaving, you never want to do anything interesting anyway so why would you even care’_

_‘You’ve never even said I love you’_

Each and every word they said had hurt, leaving a bitter taste in Akaashi’s mouth. Sure, he found it difficult to show how he felt, but that was how he was raised. Even when his parents were around, they weren’t overly touchy and as a result, neither was Akaashi. He liked his space and he found it difficult to voice his emotions, so he had never truly told someone, other than his parents, that he had loved them.

The words just tasted weird on his tongue.

So instead, he tried to show how he felt in other ways. By listening to how their day went and paying attention to all their actions and quirks. By analysing how they reacted to certain things so he could find ways to keep them comfortable when they were together. Akaashi would think carefully about his words, choosing his sentences deliberately, taking his time to ensure that what he said would keep them happy. Except that they would always say he just sounded forced or robotic, that his face was pretty to look at but stale and boring, never showing how he felt.

And then they’d leave.

Not that Akaashi truly minded too much. That’s not to say that he was happy to see them go, he wasn’t, Akaashi did truly care about his exes. It was just that none of them had ever made him feel content enough, almost as though he could feel a piece still missing, never quite fitting together so soundly as the pieces were supposed to. Afterall people did say that when you were with the right person, you’d fit like puzzle pieces. Yet so far, Akaashi had only ever felt like a pastime, never quite right for them while they weren’t quite right for himself either.

He didn’t even care that much that he was alone, it was clear to Akaashi that his sudden loneliness was likely due to fact that White Day was approaching in only a few hours, and since last year he had been spending White Day with his then boyfriend though now long gone and being alone for it this year probably just felt slightly weird. It wasn’t that he was truly lonely, it was just a trick, a haze that was blinding him due to impending romantic holiday. Or at least, that’s what Akaashi chose to believe.

Standing up from his bed, Akaashi ran his hands over his face, rubbing his tired eyes while he adjusted to the darkness in his room. Moments later he was standing in the bathroom, hands holding the edges of the sink, body weight pressed forward and head facing down. Akaashi watched in silence as a lone drop of water fell from the faucet and hit the base of the sink between his hands. He stayed there in silence, still remembering the harsh words of his exes as they left, for a few moments before his thoughts were abruptly cut off by his phone ringing at an obnoxiously loud volume.

Trudging back to his bed, he sat near the headboard and grabbed the buzzing phone off of the table beside him.

The time now read 10:18 as he took in the numbers flashing on his screen.

The number wasn’t saved, so Akaashi had no idea who it could be on the other end. The numbers didn’t seem familiar but it was late and it wasn’t like he’d committed his friends’ numbers to memory. Besides, it was a new phone with a new sim, bought only two days earlier after an accident with his own smashing on the pavement as he struggled with multiple bags of food, in which his busy schedule of work and study had left him with little time to sort out transferring his friends contacts to his new phone.

On a normal day, Akaashi wouldn’t even consider answering the phone, since it was an unknown number, he would just decline the call and carry on with his day. But today Akaashi was admittedly, though begrudgingly, lonely and the thought that a friend could be on the other side of the phone possibly physically hurt or upset was too busy eating up at him. Maybe Kenma had paid too little attention to his surroundings, lost in some game on his PSP and was lost in an unfamiliar street in the dark or maybe Yamaguchi had locked himself out of his place again and needed somewhere safe to sleep for the night, perhaps Yachi had gone out with friends and gotten separated, maybe even hurt. The fear that one of his friends could possibly be in trouble was too great as Akaashi reluctantly accepted the call, slowly pulling his phone up to his ear waiting to see if it was some kind of scam caller or a troubled friend.

Akaashi was surprised when he heard neither of these responses through the speaker on his phone.

“Hey man, I know you’re awake. Its um .... it has just been one of those days and I could really use the distraction for a while. Do you think you could just, I don’t know, talk about that new boyfriend that you keep going on about? Its just ... um ...... yeah, it’s been, just a bad day bro.”

The voice was deep and rumbling as he uttered the words, completely unfamiliar to Akaashi, though the most concerning was how hoarse the voice had sounded, almost as if the man on the other end was trying not to cry, and the words confused Akaashi. He definitely did not know whoever was trying to call him in the middle of night, when he should definitely be asleep.

He took a second to gather his thoughts, his mind still confused at the events taking place, before speaking. His voice clear and precise as he spoke to the stranger on the other side of the phone.

“I’m sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong number, sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my oath i swear i will try to actually update this shit soon  
> i stg hold me to that shit or ill forget and lose interest in the plot ive planned out hahaa
> 
> also i live for validation soooooo let me know what you think?


	2. Midnight Whispers On Lonely Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of Akaashi and Bokuto's late night phone call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i actually did read through and check most of this which usually im too lazy to do so woah go me im ngl  
> and ik ik not the most accurate depiction of mental health ofc just using the fact that akaashi is always the one the quickly cheers bokuto up n all  
> also someone pointed out to me that when bokuto is sad or overwhelmed he hides in small spaces and the pictures they used almost made me cry im ngl i love him  
> let me know what you think ? i need to actually improve my writing to anything is appreciated xx

**March 13th 10:06pm**

Bokuto woke from his very much needed nap hours later than he had expected, his room dark with the only light source being a dim streetlamp casting weak light rays through his window. His mind wasn’t quite as foggy as it had been before, though he was still miles away from being anywhere near his normal self again.

Turning over to lie flat on his back, Bokuto groaned slightly at the discomfort that came with having fallen asleep in jeans. Dragging himself up, he was able to pick out his most comforting clothes, a dark green hoodie that was probably the softest thing he owned and a pair of black sweatpants, found among the masses of clothes littering his bed.

Getting changed in the dark proved to be a difficult challenge for Bokuto’s fog filled mind as he lost the arm holes of his hoodie countless times and put on his sweatpants inside out before putting them on back to front and then eventually figuring out, after what felt like forever, how to correctly dress himself.

Falling backwards onto his bed once again, Bokuto felt out of place. As if the bones in his body weren’t settling quite right while the familiar feeling of heavy weights began to take form in his stomach once again. The thought of going through those heavy, helpless feelings for the second time that day weighed greatly on Bokuto’s mind as he sniffled to himself, an attempt to keep the tears that were threatening to spill at bay.

A fleeting thought made Bokuto perk up slightly, a small smile attempting to make its way through the sniffles and oncoming tears while he felt around his bed searching for his phone.

A few minutes of flailing awkwardly in an attempt to find his phone in the dark, eventually found success, his fingers curling around the edges of a familiar screen glowing brightly as he picked it up. Immediately, Bokuto began scrolling through his contacts page searching for one in particular.

**‘Best Bro – xxxxx xxx xxx’**

Of course, he could call Kuroo, he didn’t really know why that hadn’t occurred to him before. After all, Kuroo was his best friend, and could easily be considered one of the best and only people Bokuto could be around when he fell into one of his slumps. While he was never able to exactly pull Bokuto out of his low moods, the companionship of having his best friend speak utter nonsense to fill his mind and distract him was always welcome.

Maybe Kuroo could help keep his mind off certain negative thoughts that threatened to fill his head and distract him from the growing weights in his limbs and stomach by telling him about all the pranks he was planning to pull on Yaku and Lev or he could ask him to start explaining some chemistry or physics theorem since those always got him talking for hours on end. Even though, Bokuto knew he didn’t exactly plan on listening, Kuroo knew how it was and he never minded, he was good at settling his nerves and providing white noise with no questions asked and never complaining when Bokuto didn’t reply or share his enthusiasm.

A slight moment of doubt made Bokuto hesitate in pressing the call button, the heavy feeling of uneasiness settling in the back of his mind.

_‘He’s probably asleep, you’re going to wake him up’_

_‘He’ll be mad that you’re bothering him’_

Taking a deep breath in and out, Bokuto scrunched his face and tried to forget the lingering thoughts that poisoned his mind. Kuroo had never acted like that in the past so there was no evidence that he would now. It was just his paranoia trying to get the better of him. To further cement his case against the unwanted thoughts Bokuto checked the time shown in the corner of the screen and gave a light sigh of relief.

**10:18pm**

Kuroo would definitely still be awake at this time, and besides, Kuroo had lately been talking non stop about his new boyfriend who always stayed up late busying himself with countless games on multiple devices that Kuroo had become accustomed to going to sleep even later than usual, staying up late, content to watch his boyfriend busy playing his games.

With one last deep breath in to steady the nerves that Bokuto knew were unneeded, it was just Kuroo after all, he pressed the call button and held his phone to his ear listening to the grating sounds of the dial tone every few seconds. The phone continued to ring and the longer it took the more nervous Bokuto got, eventually closing his eyes and waiting for the almost inevitable voicemail robot that he’d likely get.

And then the ringing stopped suddenly, surprising Bokuto to hear the faint whispers of someone breathing on the other end rather than the unforgiving robotic voice of the voicemail box he had been expecting.

Before he could give Kuroo a chance to refuse, Bokuto began stumbling his way through the words that he’d practised over and over again in his head while waiting for the ringing to stop.

“Hey man, I know you’re awake. Its um …. it has just been one of those days and I could really use the distraction for a while. Do you think you could just, I don’t know, talk about that new boyfriend that you keep going on about? It’s just … um …… yeah, it’s been, just a bad day bro.”

His face scrunched up the second the words finished leaving his mouth, cringing at the way he’d stumbled through his words and how raw his voice had felt and likely had sounded too after having been asleep for so long as well as barely speaking to anyone throughout the day. He tried his best not to feel embarrassed since he was only talking to his best friend of almost seven years now, Kuroo had seen him through so many episodes that he knew he didn’t need to feel awkward when asking for his help anymore. But still, something felt off and Bokuto couldn’t help but begin to regret picking up the phone in the first place.

His feelings of regret were only amplified when a few moments later he heard a voice, very clearly not Kuroo’s, say the words that would likely haunt Bokuto’s dreams that night, the embarrassment only increasing with each word the man with the steady voice said.

“I’m sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong number, sir.”

Eyes shooting open, Bokuto sat up straight in his bed, his free arm circling around his waist gripping tightly in an attempt at comforting him in the midst of the incredibly embarrassing moment of spilling his stupid feelings to some stranger over the phone. Some stranger with a very soothing voice at that, who now definitely thought Bokuto was crazy.

“Oh,” he breathed out barely understanding how he had even called a stranger when he had definitely clicked Kuroo’s contact “right, uh … sorry about that.” He manages to spit out before the vague memories of Kuroo replacing his old worn out phone with a new one and having to change his phone number in the process only a week or so ago came back to him.

Despite the haze that evidently continued clouding his thought process he was able to remember that he had actually saved Kuroo’s new number but had put it under a different name on his phone, he must’ve gone to his old contact out of familiarity and muscle memory.

“I’ll just … go now, I guess.” He mutters awkwardly, regret at having pressed the call button filling his gut.

The embarrassment of his mistake made him hang his head for a moment before opening his mouth to apologise again to the man he had likely woken up with his phone call and say goodbye before planning to promptly collapse from his discomfort, when the man in question started speaking again, his voice just as steady and calming as it had been the first time.

“Though I suppose I wouldn’t mind staying on call for a while, if you’d like.” A brief moment of stillness falls before the voice returns, although sounding slightly more apprehensive than before. “I guess I could probably benefit from a distraction at the moment as well, if you don’t mind.”

**\-------------------------**

The moment of silence stretched a little too long for Akaashi’s liking, the man had just sounded so defeated and small when he spoke, apologising for a wrong number call and awkwardly preparing to excuse himself when he was obviously attempting to reach out for support during a rough time, if his shaking voice was anything to go by.  
So, when Akaashi spoke the words, they had not only surprised the mystery stranger on the phone, but himself as well.

"Though I suppose I wouldn't mind staying on call for a while, if you'd like." He took a moment to assess the situation and gathered that man would likely feel more comfortable if he believed that Akaashi himself would benefit from the call. “I guess I could probably benefit from a distraction at the moment as well, if you don’t mind.” And if his words happened to be based in reality, well, he would deny any and all accusations.

Waiting for a reply, Akaashi heard a shaky breath on the other end of the line followed by a small sniffle, he could almost see the pout from the dark of his room. Which felt odd, seeing as he knew nothing of what the other man looked like.

“Ok then, I could keep you company,” the man said, false bravado showing clearly in comparison to the request he thought he had made to a friend not two minutes earlier. “Since you asked so nice and all.” Despite his clear emphasis on Akaashi needing the company more than himself who had been the one to call, his voice sounded lighter than it had before, and something told Akaashi that not all of it was for show.

The corner of his mouth threatened to tilt into a small smile as he spoke, “I should probably introduce myself, I’m Akaashi Keiji. Its nice to meet you – “

“Woahhh that’s such a pretty name,” the man says as he cuts Akaashi’s sentence short “it sounds so strong and nice, seems like it fits you. I like it.” He says, the compliment bringing an uncharacteristic blush to Akaashi’s face.

“Aaaa ghaaa shiii” he continues, sounding out his name and continuing to surprise the unsuspecting man he was speaking to. “I’m Bokuto Koutarou, and it’s nice to meet you too Akaashi.”

The small smile began to creep up Akaashi’s warm face for the second time in their conversation so far, at least now he had a name to put with the mystery voice coming from his phone’s speaker.

“So, Bokuto-san, may I ask why exactly you were calling a stranger in the middle of the night?” Curiosity and exhaustion getting the better of his usual polite hesitance and distant interest.

“Oh well,” Bokuto began, unsure of how to explain his unusual conversation starter. Akaashi was nice and seemed as though he genuinely cared and Bokuto didn’t want to ruin that. Even if he had just met the man only a few minutes earlier. He couldn’t bare the thought of spreading his feelings out to show the world just for another person to leave him for how difficult his mood swings were to deal with.

“I just … I guess it was a hard day is all, it just left me a bit drained, that’s all.” He cringed at how empty his voice sounded, the half truth obviously omitting certain details from his explanation. In an attempt to avoid any more difficult questions he turned the conversation back to Akaashi, “What about you? Why did you accept the weird company request of a stranger you just met over the phone?”

Thankfully, Akaashi picks up on his clear discomfort when talking about his own problems and instead replied with a type of honesty that surprised both men.

“Well, I suppose I’ve been feeling quite lonely lately. The quiet just seems a little emptier than usual tonight, so I was glad to receive your call, Bokuto-san. It seems you saved me from a restless night alone, so, thank you.”

The admission was embarrassing to say the least, but Akaashi wanted to make sure Bokuto knew that he truly appreciated his presence as well, he wanted Bokuto to feel as though he had done something to help another instead of feel guilty at the possibility of having woken a stranger. Akaashi’s estimation at Bokuto’s need to feel as though he had helped someone was proved accurate when a reply came without a moment of silence in between. Voice brighter and clearly sounding much happier than he had when the phone call started.

“Really? Oh that’s great then, we can keep each other company in that case! I’d hate to leave you lonely Akaashi, I’m glad I helped even a little.”

A small sigh of relief passed his lips as he smiled upon hearing the slightly cheerful lilt in the man’s voice, grateful that he was able to cheer Bokuto up even slightly from the place he had been in.

After that, the time went quickly. The two boys were awake while the rest of the city lay sleeping, a deadly silence surrounding them as they fought it off with each other, speaking of anything that came to mind.

They spoke about their families, Akaashi saying little about his parents while Bokuto rambled on with stories about his three sisters. They talked about university and found out that they were nearer to each other than they had assumed, going to neighbouring universities with less than 30 minutes of travel time between them. They spoke of each other’s respective courses and career plans, Akaashi in a business based course while Bokuto was aiming towards a future in physical therapy while still playing for their university’s volleyball team. The subsequent news that Akaashi had also played volleyball back in high school had especially brightened Bokuto’s voice with excitement and enthusiasm for the sport he clearly loved and no less than a thousand questions and comments on Akaashi’s time in the sport followed it.

As the time passed, both men were feeling considerably better than they had earlier in the evening and, even though he would never admit it out loud, Akaashi was extremely grateful for the events that led up to their meeting. The painful silence and cold loneliness, Bokuto’s messiness and accidents that led them to where they were now.

Despite their brief introductions and the fact that they had only met a few short hours ago, Akaashi was in awe of the man on the other side of the phone call.

So, when the clock hit roughly half past two in the morning and he heard Bokuto’s soft snores travelling through the phone’s speaker leaving Akaashi alone in his room with the sound of Bokuto sleeping filling the emptiness he longed to get rid of, a smile filled his face and a warmth spread through his chest, a warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time.

After listening to the calming noise of Bokuto sleeping for a few more minutes, Akaashi ended the call and decided to save the now-known unknown number into his contacts.

Just in case Bokuto needed his help again.

No other reason why Akaashi felt the need to save the number.

There was definitely no lingering feeling other than pure concern for a stranger as he typed out a message for Bokuto to see when he woke.

And there was absolutely no reason, other than pure exhaustion, as to why Akaashi fell quickly asleep with a warm smile, that was definitely not there, to be met with dreams of a deep voice and a bright laugh.

**\-------------------------**

**March 14th 9:30am**

The impossibly loud, irritating ringing of a phone alarm going off right beside his ear startled Bokuto from his sleep, making him jump in surprise at the sudden noise breaking the silence in the room.

Switching off the alarm, Bokuto rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling of his tiny flat. Since he had classes starting later in the day, he was in no rush to jump out of bed so he lay there, listening to the sound of the city awake outside his window as he tried his best to remember the events of the dream rudely snatched away from him.

Bokuto couldn’t remember much, his mind taking its time to fully wake up, leaving his memories slightly jumbled and blurred. What he did remember was a warm, calming voice, stoic and strong. He remembered muffled laughs under the man’s breath, likely smothered by a hand or arm. He remembered long conversations about common topics with the warming mystery voice, volleyball and favourite animals, family members and high school embarrassments, almost any topic flowed with the soft voice he recalled rolling around in his mind like calm ocean waves twisting and lapping at the shore.

Giving himself a while to properly wake up he reached for his phone to find a few unexpected messages left by Kuroo.

Confused at why his best friend was texting him at 2:49am, Bokuto opened the messages and upon reading the words left there, a deep realisation hit him like a boulder.

It hadn’t been a dream.

Last night was real.

And he had completely embarrassed himself with a wrong number call before spending the entire night talking to a complete stranger who was kind and interesting and who listened. A man who had managed to, not only distract him from the dark feelings and horrid thoughts eating away at him, but to also make him smile, laugh and make him genuinely feel happy for the first time in the few days he had been stuck in his low mood.

A wide, toothy smile lifted his entire face as he went to change the old contact name to a much more important one before going back to the conversation to read the messages once again.

\- Goodnight Bokuto-san, I hope you rest well.  
\- I just wanted to thank you again for calling tonight, I enjoyed speaking with you.  
\- Perhaps we could speak again sometime, if you’re able.  
_\- From **Akaashi <3** \- Sent at **2:49am** -_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm ngl im a little impressed at my ability to keep on track with this and not forget to write or get bored woah  
> also pray for me a lil i just sent off my final portfolio im praying i get an interview haha


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